


Birds and Vines

by corbeod



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Pet Shop & Flower Shop, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-10-25 22:12:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10773504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corbeod/pseuds/corbeod
Summary: Tsukishima is trying to live a magic free life despite having the natural ability to understand animals, especially birds. It works until he gets a job at the local pet shop.~~Discontinued~~





	1. Tsukishima

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Flower Shop & Pet Shop AU](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/287448) by bennettflynt. 
  * Inspired by [More Flower & Pet Shop AU](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/287451) by bennettflynt. 
  * Inspired by [Notes & Backstories](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/289686) by bennettflynt. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Based on [bennettflynt](http://www.bennettflynt.tumblr.com)'s TsukkiYama Flower/Pet Shop AU.  
> *Some things are going to be different from what bennettflynt has said about the AU since I'm not very great at angst but I'll do my best to use as much of what's already there.  
> *Characters not in this chapter appear later.  
> *I'll tag pairings as they come.  
> *I'm not yet a college student so please give me information about what college life is like so I can write it accurately!

August 15, 2016.

It’s only afternoon and already I’m feeling sluggish. Ah, isn’t Akaashi attending a college nearby? Perhaps it’s still early enough leave and find his dorm for some moral support. I glance at a wall clock as I enter my own campus, and I frown. It’s almost half past one and Akaashi isn’t out until a quarter to three. The next class is at least a five minute walk, but I don’t need to be there for ten minutes, so if I’m lucky I may still have time to call him while he’s at lunch.

I don’t have that kind of luck. I spend four minutes speed walking before I feel weight on my shoulder and something dark obscures my peripheral. I turn, ready to ask the person to not touch me, only to realize it’s a _ bird _ . I roll my shoulder back and it takes off to join its friends in circling over my head. How long have they been doing that? It couldn’t have just started so maybe I’ve gotten so used to it I hardly notice when it begins. The area is mostly empty, thankfully, so I spend a solid five minutes trying to scare the crows off to wherever their nest is. I may have been flailing my arms and I may have been yelling, but no one needs to know that for sure. People haven’t gathered around when I’m done, but a group of students are close enough so I can barely hear them talking about these other two students that caused trouble earlier in the day.

I almost laugh at the idiocy of such a thing.

I find a quality seat just as the bell rings for history to begin. The teacher, Mr. Sawamura, announces the final project, saying not to stress about it but to begin thinking of ideas so we know what we will do for it when the time comes. Not everything is set in stone but there will likely be options for what it will be turned in as, such as a presentation or short story.

“What are you going to do yours on?” someone nearby asks, and it takes me a moment before I realize they were talking to me.

I pretend to think as the guy slides in on my right, leaving me to be squished against the wall if I want space between me and him, and I always want space between myself and another person.

The guy doesn’t bother to give me enough time to answer. I guess it’s okay since I wasn’t going to give him a proper one anyways. At most he’d receive a shrug, since I  _ really _ need Akaashi’s moral support now. The orange haired guy makes me feel like I’m standing out in the sun during early summer.

(Speaking of the sun, ninety nine percent of all mass in the our solar system is taken up by the sun.)

Eventually I want to tell him to shut his mouth. Sure, his inability to remain on one topic is amusing, but my roommate is better at making himself understood, and he stumbles over his words very often.

“Oh! On the topic of the principal,” the guy said. How he started talking about the principal is beyond me. Last I checked he was trying to explain why he likes meat buns. “It was so funny this morning, the face he made. It was like blurgh!” he shouted as he pulled a shocked expression.

He then went on to describe how he’d spotted his friend from high school by the school cafeteria that morning so he decided to just jump on the other’s back. The poor guy lost his balance (presumably from the sudden weight on his back, but my classmate was convinced his friend was too excited to stay upright) and ran into the principal.

“Wow, are you really that short?” I asked.

“Eh, what was that beanpole?” he asked as he hurried to stand on his chair.

“I’m surprised you were able to reach your friend’s back.” I turned my attention back to the computer I’d taken out earlier to research ideas for the final project. Did the shorty have anything in mind? Probably not, if his rambling is anything to go off of.

“I may be short, but I can fly!” was that last thing he got in before Mr. Sawamura shouted at him to sit down.

“Okay, kid, I’ll believe it when I see it.” My voice trailed off as I began reading an article about the ancient times when witches were considered to be gods.

“Hey! My name’s Hinata Shouyou, and one day I’ll show you.” he declared before asking for my name.

“Tsukishima Kei.”

* * *

Did I doubt that Hinata could fly? Only a tiny bit. This is a mixed college, after all, so there’s bound to be a student with flying abilities. But he didn’t give off a very witch-like vibe as most of the other witches I knew did. Perhaps he’s merely a late to the party and his witch vibe will kick in later. Perhaps it was a metaphor meaning he had a higher than average jump. I guess I really should just leave it. I mean, right now, there’s a bigger problem: a giant mess of rose petals outside my dorm room that begin a trail that ends at the nurse’s office.

I stare at the petals for a moment before realizing that my roommate must somehow be a popular guy even if he certainly doesn’t seem like he is. After all, he stumbles over his words and hides himself in a red duffle coat. It’s really hard to put a face to a name with him because he looks down, so I’ve forgotten what it is and ended up calling him Pudding because he needs to go fix his hair dye or cut the dyed parts off. But I guess he’s kind of cute. Not like the attractive kind of cute, but more like the kitten kind of cute

It takes a while to move the petals so I won’t step on them when I enter the dorm. There’s no reason to be rude to my roommate.

Twenty minutes later, as I’m laying on my bed, doing my work, Pudding walks into the room with his eyes staring the life out of his phone. It’s almost hard to tell because his sweater is also dark red, and I would’ve missed it if he hadn’t stopped with his back to me.

There are a few rose petals in his hood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (If you want to talk about something fic related or just want to say hi my Tumblr is [prubear](https://prubear.tumblr.com/))


	2. Tsukishima

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm bringing this up not because I've had a problem with it but because I thought I should just mention it. As of now, there is no schedule for this so updates will come out whenever they're done. I'll try not to take a long time to update but know I'm working as fast as I can.

August 29, 2016

The first two weeks are just a blur of memories. Nothing much happens, though it seems that the birds following me are making an appearance more frequently. It happens with other animals too but birds are obnoxious about it. They’re loud and like to come in groups whereas cats, for example, come alone usually just let me know that they’re hungry. My only problem then is that I don’t know what the cat wants to eat, only that it wants food.

It’s always been like that. I can’t understand what an animal is saying more than the average person can. A dog barking is just a dog barking. All I know is what the animal is feeling, like if they’re hungry or excited. So I’ve kind of learned to at least keep money on me so I can at least buy something if I need to. I’ve packed canned food or toys on occasion.

I’m not really surprised that someone’s already noticed. It must be pretty odd to see someone being followed by some kind of animal almost every second I’m outdoors. I swear there was an owl on my trail these past four days.

It’s more so that it was Hinata who noticed. He seems like the guy who wouldn’t notice something unless he thought it was important to his life, or only bring it up if a similar topic was already being discussed.

At the moment, we’re outside of Mr. Sawamura’s class. Hinata’s looking up at me - or the black cat on my head, I’m not sure - with his head cocked to the side. “So?”

“Hmm? You’re too short, I can’t hear you from up here.” I say with a snicker, not wanting to admit that I wasn’t listening to him.

(I imagine Akaashi telling me to be nice but I know he’d probably think something similar.)

With a frown, Hinata manages to reach my ear, “Would you like to work at Petcetera?”

“No,” I say as I push him away. His volume was unnecessary. He stumbles before landing on his bottom with an  _ Oomf! _ , and I really want to make another short joke. “Not if I’m working with you.” Besides, I remind myself, I’ve already applied for a job at the local coffee shop. They said they're trying to get as many workers as possible and most applicants will get the job.

Hinata doesn't seem phased. We go into routine the next three days. Instead of a normal greeting, he hurries up to me like I'm a friend he hasn't seen in years, hovers at my ear, and asks if I would like to work at Petcetera. Each time I say no and he begins to beg.

On Thursday I decide to take him up on the offer. He squeals when I tell him and would probably also be jumping around if we weren’t in a classroom and if Mr. Sawamura wasn’t the teacher.

Hinata finds me near the office after school where he takes my arm and practically drags me to the pet store next door to the coffee shop I previously applied to. I almost roll my eyes. Hopefully I won’t have a run in with that lady from the interview. Boy was she a very, very unpleasant experience.

“The owners here are really cool! Especially Bokuto.” Hinata said before he swung open the door. A bell, sounding almost like a doorbell, rang as he announced, “Welcome to Petcetera.”

* * *

Kuroo, one of two shop owners, called it tour day. I call it get-to-know-the-employee day. It’s early, and on a Saturday morning at that. No one should be bombarded with questions at this time of the day. Can’t he understand that I’d like to be relaxing right now? Sure, I’m an early bird, but that doesn’t mean I’m always ready to do things.

Kuroo doesn’t seem ready to start the day either. His shoulders are sagging and he keeps dragging his feet every few steps. Worst of all, it looks like he didn’t bother to brush his hair in the morning. He’s tired too, I can feel it, but throughout the tour he continues to hold onto a laid-back aura while making sly comments.

(If Hinata is the sun, this man must be the kind partial eclipse where you can only see a sliver of the moon.)

The shop is smaller than the well known pet shops I’ve been to. They don’t sell any fish or other aquatic animals or the food for them. There is a section for hamsters and rodents and across is another section for birds (ugh). The largest animal selection are the cats and dogs in the very back and you can’t get in there without a key. There is a section between the behind the rodents and birds selling beds, cages, toys, and cat litter.

“We’ll have you working here at the cashier. You seemed overwhelmed with the animals earlier.” Kuroo said when the tour was done.

I groaned, pushing my glasses as far back as I could. I didn’t want to talk about that stupid ability and I probably didn’t have to. But Kuroo’s one of the people in charge so he probably should know. And, besides, he seems like a perceptive person so he’ll notice later if Hinata hasn’t already mentioned it.

“My dad’s a vet. I must’ve gotten some ability from him.” I wanted to leave it at that but Kuroo seemed curious as if he was a child being told a story. So I sighed internally and went on. “I can understand what animals are feeling but not what they’re saying. For example, if a cat is hungry I’ll know it’s hungry but not what they want to eat.”

I get the feeling that he’s internally laughing. I don’t ask about it though it’s bothering me when I finish with, “I get headaches whenever I’m around a lot of animals for a long time.”

“How much is a lot?” When he’s done he’s leaning forward on the cashier with an eyebrow slightly raised.

“Maybe six or seven.”

Kuroo nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind when you start tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *If you want a really basic idea of what Petcetera looks like, click [here](http://orig02.deviantart.net/95de/f/2017/124/e/3/petcetera_by_fatal_light-db859y9.png) for an image.  
> *Why he didn't get hired at the coffee shop might be explained later on.  
> \----  
> (If you want to talk about something fic related or just want to say hi my Tumblr is [prubear](https://prubear.tumblr.com/))


	3. Tsukishima

Training.

“Today we’ll show you how this works. If you already know something, let us know and it’ll go faster. Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification.” Kuroo explained then hit his hand against his forehead, presumably to make sure he isn’t forgetting something. He shrugged after a few seconds.

He turned his upper body so he was looking in the direction of the bird area. He sucked in a breath then, “The great horned owl is  _ ugly _ !” and received an angry, “Oyaoya,  _ hoo  _ said that? Tell me  _ hoo _ !” in response.

“Bokuto’s our most experienced cashier, so he’ll run most of the training.” Kuroo explained as he straightened himself, leaning on the counter with a smirk visible for the world to see. “It’ll go while business is slow. You’ll double as an errand boy if we need you to.”

Bokuto, or at least who I assumed to be Bokuto, was still demanding who called the great horned owl ugly when he shoved Kuroo against the counter, a smile on his face. “If that doesn’t bruise, I’m killing your cat!”

“Anything but my cat!” Kuroo mock wailed as he flailed the one arm that wasn’t holding his stomach and fell to his knees.

I didn’t know what to do besides watch the exchange. For a very brief moment I hoped Hinata would come in and remind the two that they have a new recruit to train. But, sadly, I had to remind myself that Hinata is a sociable person who would likely join in the conversation.

Bokuto is much more lively than Hinata though. Halfway through my shift, I can tell his favorite form of communication seems to be shouting and excessive body movement. He seems to enjoy using nicknames, and Kuroo seems to have caught onto it. His hair, like Kuroo’s, is spiked though it looks like he did it on purpose unlike Kuroo who almost appears as though he’s unaware that he even has hair.

(I think he’d probably forget about it if he didn’t have so much covering his right eye. Maybe we should all pitch in to buy him a brush.)

At some point Bokuto apologized for not being at work yesterday. He had to interview a potential roommate he couldn’t reschedule to a reasonable date.

“What’re you apologizing to me for?” I asked after an older woman finished paying for her cat food.

(“I’m not crazy,” she was muttering. “It’s for my son. He likes it.”

It’s the first thing to tell Akaashi if he asks for Petcetera work stories the next time we see each other.)

“Ah, I wanted to show you the cool birds we have since you’re new.” Bokuto said, pointing off to where the birds (ugh) were. “Sometimes we let them out. The colors-” he made a gesture resembling a rainbow “-are really, really,  _ really _ amazing! And, plus, Hinata said that birds like you!”

_ But I don’t like them, _ I thought but nodded anyways. He wanted approval, I could feel it, and I didn’t want him getting angry with me for not liking birds (ugh). If only birds (ugh) could understand  _ my _ emotions, then this Bird Thing™ wouldn’t even be a problem. I hope they one day become smart enough to understand human annoyance.

(Bokuto must be Sirius A then, the brightest star in the night sky.)

Kuroo checks on us three hours into the shift by means of buying cat food.

“I’ve been procrastinating about it,” he says when I bag it.

Bokuto wiggled his eyebrows as he leaned in the counter, “Is it for  _ the  _ kitten?”

“What, no.” Kuroo replied in maybe genuine shock. It’s really hard to tell with him. “If I was buying food for  _ the  _ kitten it’d be apple pie.”

“Apple pie?” Bokuto asked.

“Only his favorite.”

“Who’s  _ the  _ kitten?” Maybe if I said (whispered, actually) it out loud then it would make more sense. No such luck. I had no one associated with cats.

“Kuroo’s crush.” came Hinata’s voice next to my ear. I went to kick his legs but, oh that’s right, this boy can hover. “He’s had it since last year. Kuroo doesn’t know the guy’s name so we kitten because Kuroo’s a-” He glanced at the owners before moving closer to my ear and continuing in a whisper, “feline shapeshifter. Bokuto too, but with birds instead.”

He paused before continuing about  _ the _ kitten, still in a whisper, “Don’t tell Kuroo I know who his crush is. Me and Bokuto have a bet. Whoever tells Kuroo  _ the _ kitten’s name loses. If I lose I have to give up meat buns for a month. But I’m allowed to give out fun facts. ”

In his regular almost yelling voice, “Oh! I don’t think I ever finished telling you about why I like meat buns.”

I didn’t bother listening to the rest of what Hinata had to say until he pulled his phone from his pocket with a loud, “Nishinoya is calling!”

I was thinking that Kuroo had forgotten his decision to have me double as errand boy. But Nishinoya needed someone to run a favor for him and Kuroo said, “Lucky you, we have a free errand boy.”

“Lucky  _ Yuu _ , more like.” Bokuto muttered. Hinata, with his feet now back on the ground, hid his laugh behind his hands.

“Yeah, I need someone to go pick up an order for me over at Sugawara’s Gardening. I’ll bring the money to pay you guys back as soon as I can.”

The order: peonies, white roses, and daffodils all in a bouquet together. So that’s I was sent off with a piece of ripped paper. Sugawara’s Gardening was just walk around the corner but I still pretended to be salty about having to walk so far for flowers.

(“Drive your car then,” Hinata suggested.

“No, that’s a waste of gas.”)

And, besides, the breeze outside is very nice. Maybe I would’ve made the walk longer to enjoy it if I had brought my headphones. Being intentionally slow without music gets boring far too quick so you can’t enjoy what you were there for.

Sugawara’s Gardening was about the size of a small two story house and definitely looked like a home. You were greeted with a small front yard garden that was split in half to make a path to the entrance of the shop. Inside smelled oddly of pastries as if they shared a building with a bakery.

At the register is a scrawny boy who had to be around my age. He has brown hair (or is it green?) with a weird piece sticking up. It’s hard to guess if it’s natural or if he just doesn’t brush his hair.

“Welcome to Sugawara’s Gardening, I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi. Is there anything I can help you with?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not trying to be subtle about Kuroo's crush's identity but if you can't tell who it is feel free to make some guesses.  
> \----  
> (If you want to talk about something fic related or just want to say hi my Tumblr is [prubear](https://prubear.tumblr.com/))


	4. Yamaguchi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New thing: name in the chapter is the character that the point of view the story is being told from.

September 18, 2016.

I want to cry. It’s almost seven in the evening, which means Kageyama’s shift ends in thirty minutes. He’s still on the job. Where is he? Why can't I find him? He’s not  _ here.  _ Ennoshita can’t help me since he’s already helping an elderly lady -  _ why  _ can’t she decide on a flower? - and Suga’s at the cashier chatting with Semi while he bags all the latter’s stuff.

(Oh my God Semi go away you tard. I’m having a crisis.)

I try to listen in on their conversation, but it’s hard to hear from the employee restrooms so I pretend I know what they’re talking about. I imagine they’re talking about their love lives though that may just be the result of the roses getting to me.

(Come  _ on _ Semi. These thorns are painful.)

It takes ten minutes for Semi to realize that walking away from the cashier and leaving the shop is a high quality idea. I watch him go through a glare, and I think he knows I’m staring because he checks over his shoulder in my direction before he exits.

I take a look around the shop before running over to Suga. Ennoshita’s still helping the elderly lady, but other than that there are no customers that I can see.

“Suga,” I whine loud enough so that he will be able to hear me but Ennoshita and the lady can’t. “Where’s Kageyama?” I show him my arms when I reach him. Each one has a single red rose that blooms at my elbow with the stem winding its way down around my forearm until stops at a small bush around my wrist. The roses would look great if they were a tattoo.

“You couldn’t call him?” Suga asks as he inspects one arm.

Each finger has a thorn sticking out from the tip. “It’s like that on both hands.”

Suga sighed as he unlocked his phone. “You’re sure you’re over her?”

I’ve never nodded this quick. “I hardly think about her anymore. I haven’t seen her since the first day of school.”

“Why, then?” He asked, gesturing to the roses with his phone before bringing it to his ear.

“I’m not sure.”

(Kageyama, answer right now I swear t-)

“Kageyama? - Oh, hello Hinata. How are you? - That’s nice to hear. - Mhmm. - Mhmm. - Hinata! Stop, please. I’d love to chat but I need to talk to Kageyama. It’s an emergency.” There’s a long pause in Suga’s side of the before he begins again. “Kageyama? - Get yourself in the shop right now. Code red: Yamaguchi’s growing red roses.”

The thorns have tightened and dug into my skin before Kageyama returns. I bite on my bottom lip to keep myself crying so customers don’t look over the counter and find me. It isn’t easy. My arms hurt when they move but I have to keep them going if I want to keep the blood from hitting the floor and my clothes. And I do want to.

It takes nearly five minutes - starting from when the call finished - for Kageyama to get himself in the shop. He waits for someone to finish paying and leave (which feels longer than it probably is) before he crouches behind the counter. He takes a pair of scissors and a vase from a cabinet before leading me back to the employee restrooms as quickly as he could without causing a lot of pain. Here he holds my arms over the sink while he carefully removes the thorns that managed to stab their way through flesh. He cuts the roses off at the spot where they meet the bush and puts them in the vase before busying himself with removing the bush itself. When he’s done he heals the thorn wounds then leaves me to clean off all the blood.

He takes the vase and scissors back to the cashier counter where he’ll write the date on some paper and stick it onto the vase. The roses are immortal, according to Suga, until I fall out of love or die, whichever comes first, so it’s become a game between the other three to place bets on how long they think it’ll take for the flowers to start wilting. I take the money if they’re all wrong, but that hasn’t happened yet.

I groan when the door jingle goes off.

“Hello Sugawara. Sorry for barging in so close to closing. I was sent b-”

“Tsukki!” I shouted when I recognized the voice, storming back to the cashier. My arms were still a bit wet but I decided it didn’t matter when I forced the dry napkin into a ball and threw it at the man in glasses. “For the fifth time, we have a delivery boy!” I gestured wildly at Kageyama, who was silently making his way to the one of the pots aisles.

(Tsukki? Where did that come from? Wow, I must be really tired. Growing plants from your body  _ does _ takes a lot of energy. Thankfully he didn’t seem to notice it.)

Tsukishima looked back at Kageyama, a smirk on his face. “You don’t want to help a customer? What are you, a king?”

“Hey,” Kageyama shouted, stopping in his walk. “Don’t call me that.”

Then he continued on like he was never spoken to.

“Nice knowin’ you, king!” Tsukishima called after him before returning his attention to me. “I’m not here for pickup. I’m buying something for someone.”

“Oh! Who is this  _ someone _ ? Are you in a relationship?” The idea that he might have a significant other somehow made me sick, but I had no right to try to force them apart. So I did the only thing I could do: give him information about which flowers have romantic connotations and how to care for them.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Tsukishima said quickly, cutting off my rose color rambling. “He’s paying me to get these. Says he needs them by Monday.”

“Oh, ok.” I murmured unsure of what else to say. At the door, Suga had one hand in the air with the other pointing at his wrist.

I cleared my throat. “Um, it’s almost closing time. If you come back tomorrow at, like, three thirty I’ll help you with your friend.”

That was more of Ennoshita’s job, actually, to help customers find what they want, but Ennoshita doesn’t work on Mondays. That’s why I’ll be helping Tsukishima. It’s  _ totally _ not because he is a very attractive person. Well, maybe just a little bit, because as I watch him leave the store I can’t think of any form of exercise I could do to make my heart race like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (If you want to talk about something fic related or just want to say hi my Tumblr is [prubear](https://prubear.tumblr.com/). I'm also taking prompts now so if you wanna send one in go ahead!)
> 
> Also! I'm thinking about including some hanahaki disease. I might make a poll if I can't decide.


	5. Yamaguchi

Sugawara’s Gardening didn’t have any kind of uniform for its employees except for the green apron you had to wear over your clothes. You’re allowed to wear anything you want underneath. Or, anything so long as it was appropriate for a work environment. It’s a rule that Suga said he created when he inherited the business because his dad had an employee who liked to wear exposing clothes and scarred his childhood self. I usually came in a plain T-shirt and sweats. That was okay - I didn’t get in trouble for it and it’s very comfortable. But, oh, the things attractive people do!

This shirt wanted to choke the life out of me. My face was red, or at least it felt like it was, and I kept wondering what it would be like to head home to cuddle him whenever I felt like it. And how do you talk without spluttering? I carried a water bottle around with me to pretend I was choking and not screwing my sentences over. But, I guess, the simple solution would be to stop staring at him.

He doesn’t seem to notice so maybe it’s okay.

“Do you know if your friend wants anything specific?” I asked when we reach our destination and found it easier to stare at the flowers before me than to steal a glance back at him.

Tsukishima shook his head. “I would’ve said so if he did.”

“Is it for an event?” Maybe he’ll say he would’ve said so if it was, but that doesn’t mean I can’t ask about it.

“He said he’ll be moving into a new house with a roommate.”

“Gratitude, then? Yes, yes,” I said, more to myself than to Tsukishima. “If someone is letting you move in you’d want to show gratitude.”

So I showed him the different flowers meaning gratitude.

“Well,” I started when Tsukishima asked why. “Different flowers have different meanings. Red roses mean love, like that. So even if the owner of the house doesn’t know, it’s the thought that counts, right?”

“Sure.”

He didn’t smile the entirety of the short shopping trip. Sure, he smirked when he gave sarcastic remarks, but that doesn’t count as a smile. That’s unacceptable so I spent as much time as possible telling him flower puns. I could hear Suga’s voice in the back of my head, “One day we’ll hold a competition for whoever tells the most plant puns.”

(I told six puns to Tsukishima. I could totally win that competition. No problem.)

He bought campanulas in the end. Tsukishima said his friend noticed the owner of the house seemed to be fond of the color blue.

“What’s your friend’s name?” I asked before Tsukishima could leave.

“Akaashi.” he said over the sound of the bell.

* * *

 

Bokuto flew into work the next day, a couple of blue flowers in his talons.

“Tetsu-bro!” Bokuto shouts has his slams open the door to his and Kuroo’s shared office, assuming his human form before entering. He forgot to do his hair that morning, and his clothes look as though they’d been thrown on in a frenzy, but he didn’t look the least bit afraid of arriving to work late. He was somehow more energetic and earlier than usual.

“Bro-kuto!” Kuroo shouts back just before the man entered the room. “Boy, what do you need that’s so important you need to tear these walls down? Don’t you remember how much money we spent on this building?”

“Look!” Bokuto says as he waves his blue flowers around, completely ignoring the last question. “My roommate gave them to me! I wanna keep some in here!”

“Bro, really?”

“Bro, really! It’s from the pretty one too!”

“Bro!”

“I  _ know _ ! Help me find a vase for these! We can’t let my pretty roommate’s money go to waste.”

On his way to his first class of the day, the pretty roommate sneezed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay literally that last scene is there mostly because I wanted to call Kuroo Tetsubro.
> 
> -
> 
> I want to let everyone know that I have poll set up for this work [here](https://goo.gl/forms/RZhSpSQHjG62Sziy1) because I can't decide if I should include hanahaki disease or not. Please go take it if you wanna.
> 
> -
> 
> (If you want to talk about something fic related or just want to say hi my Tumblr is [prubear](https://prubear.tumblr.com/). I'm also taking prompts now so if you wanna send one in go ahead!)


	6. Chapter 6

September 22, 2016, immediately after work.

I really should’ve seen it coming. After all, it’s not like I didn’t internally laugh at him when he forgot we had a delivery system. And, ok, maybe I did snicker when someone made a comment wittier than his. So yeah, I guess I deserved to become an errand boy just for a day. But this didn’t feel very fair. When he came into the shop, it was for something that would eventually be put on display. Other people can enjoy the way a flower looks and smells. Who enjoys the look and smell of cat food besides cats?

I looked around for a moment before asking, “You guys don’t do delivery, do you?” as soon as laid eyes on a worker.

Not too far from the entrance is a cashier counter run by a man with gray and black hair spiked in a way that resembled an owl. His eyes are golden in color and make it seem like he’s seen a lot during his life. He wore an apron reading  _ Petcetera _ over a simple light blue t-shirt that did his arms a  _ lot _ of justice. If I’d seen this man casually I’d definitely assume he was hot actor or model, and for a moment I had to wonder why Sugawara’s Gardening didn’t have any attractive employees like him. It’s a shame, really.

“Nah,” the worker said and I remember that it’s rude to stare. “We don’t have enough workers.”

“Ah, good.” I tried to pretend as though I wasn’t just admiring his appearance. Whether or not it worked, I don’t think I’ll ever know. “My friend sent me to buy some cat food for nem.”

“That’ll be somewhere that way behind the rodents.” He said, pointing to where it was. “I can’t help much ‘cause I don’t like the smell so if you need more help let me know and I’ll call over our cat expert, ‘kay?”

I nodded, thanking him before I made way for somewhere-behind-the-rodents land. The cat food wasn’t hard to find. There was actually like half an aisle dedicated to it. It was just a matter of remembering what brand my friend wanted. It was an embarrassing minute, especially after an older woman grabbed a bag and left like she had the store’s food layout memorized.

_ Maybe she did. Maybe she’s a crazy cat lady. Maybe she’s a human who pretends to have the magic to understand cats, _ I thought just to make myself feel better.

I never did remember the name during that minute until I saw it. We have this running joke that the cat picture they put on the bag looks like the cat version of my friend. Ne’s been using that brand since then.

“Who’s your friend?” the cashier, Bokuto according to his name tag, asks when I go up to pay.

“Kenma,” I replied. “Ne said ne would’ve done this nemself but apparently a new game came out.”

“Hey, Hinata knows that guy! Do you know Hinata?” I gave a quick nod. “You should tell your friend to come visit us sometime. I think Hinata will like it, and the rest of us could use a new friend.”

“O-okay, sure. Sure thing.”

Before I could take the food and leave, Bokuto spoke up again.

“Hey, you work at Sugawara’s Gardening, right?” He sounded like he’s been hoping and praying one of our workers would stop by.

One nod.

“Can you do plant magic? Like maybe bring a plant back to life?”

Books say that a person’s face will light up when they hear good news. This man’s  _ entire body _ turned into a lamp when I nodded. I can't imagine how bright he’d be when he gets better news but I think it’s safe to assume it would probably hurt your eyes to look in his direction. It may even cause blindness if you so much as glanced at him.

“Stay here!” He shouted before taking off. “I’ll be right back!”

* * *

 

The plant was glowing, a good sign. It means the magic is working. Granted, the glow wasn’t the most obvious but I figured slow working magic is better than magic that does nothing.

I sat on the floor with my back against the counter since my legs always become shaky when I try this. I held the vase about half a foot from my face with the flower petals at the center of my vision. It’s easier for anyone who isn’t a purebred, especially beginners, to perform magic on something when it’s in plain view. Movies make watching someone use magic seem like the most beautiful thing you could ever witness in your life. In reality, however, the user would probably look pretty odd if others didn’t know what he was doing.

It took several minutes to complete though he probably would’ve held the same excitement regardless of how long I took. He proudly put the vase on display at the counter while I took some more time to stay on the floor to let my legs become stable, at least enough to be able to walk on. I was a bit nauseous so I don’t think I would’ve gotten up immediately after finishing anyway.

“Thank you so much!” Bokuto shouted when I stood. He gave me a hug but it felt more like an attack on my lungs. He took my breathe when I first saw him but I never expected him to do so literally.

Maybe I’ll forgive him for it one time. Apparently the campanolas were from someone very important to him. He wouldn’t specify the relation so I guessed it was a significant other or a family member.

“No problem.” I choked out. I would’ve added on a “Can’t breathe.” but I was released before I could.

When he let go there were no more important issues requiring my help, so he gave me the cat food, thanked me once more, and sent me on my way. It was late evening when I left so I prayed Kenma would forgive me for taking so long to get nir cat food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah the part where Yamaguchi is admiring Bokuto? It's the longest paragraph in this chapter even though it was really hard for me to write.
> 
> \----
> 
>  **!!IMPORTANT!!**  
>  This fic is going on a hiatas. This is for two reasons.  
> a) I am at a standstill. I didn't make it past this chapter while I was planning so I'm going to take some time to plan more chapters.  
> b) The poll about hanahaki disease is really close to being at 50/50 so I need as many people as possible to take [the poll](https://goo.gl/forms/Lorn8RgHopqkiwds1). I'm going to close it on June 22, 2017. Please do not vote more than once.
> 
> \----
> 
> (If you want to talk about something fic related or just want to say hi my Tumblr is [prubear](https://www.prubear.tumblr.com/). I'm also taking prompts now so if you wanna send one in go ahead!)


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